Free Republic
Browse · Search
General/Chat
Topics · Post Article

Skip to comments.

Nuro's driverless delivery vehicle is coming to Houston
Inverse ^ | 2/6/20 | Thor Benson

Posted on 02/14/2020 6:29:20 AM PST by Moonman62

You may soon be getting your groceries delivered to you by a car with no driver. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) just approved an exemption for the autonomous vehicle startup Nuro to deploy 5,000 driverless electric delivery vehicles.

The exemption is for Nuro's R2 delivery vehicle, which is the company's second-generation self-driving vehicle. It is designed only to carry packages, so there won't be any passengers inside. Nuro wrote in a blog post that the company is excited about this development.

"We custom-designed R2 to enrich local commerce with last-mile delivery of consumer products, groceries, and hot food from local stores and restaurants," the Mountain View, California-based company wrote. "With its specially designed size, weight, pedestrian-protecting front end, operating speed, electric propulsion, and cautious driving habits, R2 is ready to begin service as a socially responsible neighborhood vehicle that you can trust."

Nuro will start testing out deliveries on public roads in Houston, Texas within a few weeks. One of the reasons the R2 was approved is that it's a "low-speed neighborhood vehicle," so it wasn't seen as a danger. The vehicle is also pretty small, with about half the width of a normal car, so it's not too intimidating. It will be monitored by a remote operator at all times in case they need to take control at any point.

This isn't Nuro's first time testing out autonomous deliveries. The company began testing out deliveries with its R1 vehicle in Scottsdale, Arizona at the end of 2018, and there weren't any incidents. The company delivered groceries for Kroger and a local grocer for a $5.95 fee. Groceries were put in the vehicle by an employee and delivered to where they were going by an R1. Nuro has ended that test and is looking to Houston.

The R2 is a significant update, as it is more durable to handle harsh driving conditions, the sensors have been upgraded and the battery size has been almost doubled.

Nuro didn't name the companies it will be doing deliveries for in Houston in the blog post, but it says it has "multiple partners." We know one of the companies will be Walmart, as the retail chain announced in December it would be partnering with Nuro to do deliveries in Houston. There are over 30 Walmarts in Houston, so who knows if the company will be delivering for all of them.

Tom Ward, senior vice president of digital operations for Walmart U.S., said at the time that this is the future of grocery delivery.

“We’ve been test-driving a number of different options for getting groceries from our stores to our customers’ front doors through self-driving technology. We believe this technology is a natural extension of our Grocery Pickup and Delivery service and our goal of making every day a little easier for customers,” Ward said. “By continuing to test autonomous vehicle capabilities, we’re better able to understand the path self-driving technology can take us down the road.”

Though these little vehicles are really cool and seem to be pretty safe, this development could mean fewer people will be working as grocery delivery drivers. I know I'd rather get a delivery from a robot when I walk out of my house looking like I was just breakdancing in a tornado, but there are negative consequences to automating these kinds of things.


TOPICS: Business/Economy
KEYWORDS: delivery; houston; selfdriving; walmart
Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first 1-2021-22 next last

1 posted on 02/14/2020 6:29:20 AM PST by Moonman62
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | View Replies]

To: Moonman62

Oh, that’s nice. It will work like Houston’s death train. It will run over and kill people, but no harm done to the driver since there is no driver.


2 posted on 02/14/2020 6:39:09 AM PST by eastexsteve
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: eastexsteve

I’ll put $20 down that the first victim is a pedestrian


3 posted on 02/14/2020 6:43:56 AM PST by gr8eman (Stupid should hurt! Treason should hurt more!)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 2 | View Replies]

To: Moonman62

just no.

Get your own damn groceries or use pea pod

here the city tries to get citizens out of their cars and then this???

hell no


4 posted on 02/14/2020 6:48:18 AM PST by a fool in paradise (Everyone knows Hillary was corrupt, lied, destroyed documents, and influenced witnesses. Rat crime.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Moonman62
>>The R2 is a significant update, as it is more durable to handle harsh driving conditions, the sensors have been upgraded and the battery size has been almost doubled.

welcome to h-town


5 posted on 02/14/2020 6:52:25 AM PST by a fool in paradise (Everyone knows Hillary was corrupt, lied, destroyed documents, and influenced witnesses. Rat crime.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Moonman62

I can see playful drivers screwing with them in traffic.


6 posted on 02/14/2020 7:13:59 AM PST by Cold Heart (.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: gr8eman

I’ll put $20 down that the first victim is a pedestrian with a slip-and-fall lawyer.


7 posted on 02/14/2020 8:51:38 AM PST by Jeff Chandler (BLACK LIVES MAGA)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 3 | View Replies]

To: Moonman62
Gee...what could go wrong?


8 posted on 02/14/2020 9:54:21 AM PST by EinNYC
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: EinNYC

You should have posted a picture of a woman applying her makeup while driving.


9 posted on 02/14/2020 9:59:28 AM PST by Moonman62 (Charity comes from wealth.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 8 | View Replies]

To: Moonman62

Seems the vehicles would be easy pickin’s for the thugs who want to steal whatever is being delivered.


10 posted on 02/15/2020 1:20:27 AM PST by octex
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Moonman62

who or what loads and unloads it during deliveries?...


11 posted on 02/15/2020 1:54:32 AM PST by heavy metal (your reward will be in heaven not on your paycheck...)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: heavy metal

who or what loads and unloads it during deliveries?...

...

Employee loads. Customer unloads.


12 posted on 02/15/2020 2:04:32 AM PST by Moonman62 (Charity comes from wealth.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 11 | View Replies]

To: octex

Seems the vehicles would be easy pickin’s for the thugs who want to steal whatever is being delivered.

...

They invented a self driving vehicle. Now they need to wait for somebody to invent a door and a lock.


13 posted on 02/15/2020 2:06:27 AM PST by Moonman62 (Charity comes from wealth.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 10 | View Replies]

To: Moonman62

sounds like easy pickings for people to rummage through other customers deliveries...


14 posted on 02/15/2020 2:12:10 AM PST by heavy metal (your reward will be in heaven not on your paycheck...)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 12 | View Replies]

To: heavy metal; octex

Here’s a video of how it works. There’s a keypad that allows the customer to enter a code to unlock the doors:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XKXbacNQGI8


15 posted on 02/15/2020 2:12:42 AM PST by Moonman62 (Charity comes from wealth.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 11 | View Replies]

To: Moonman62

looks like a great attraction for robberies on unsuspecting customers...


16 posted on 02/15/2020 2:32:21 AM PST by heavy metal (your reward will be in heaven not on your paycheck...)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 15 | View Replies]

To: heavy metal

looks like a great attraction for robberies on unsuspecting customers...

...

Seriously? Are you trolling?

How is this any different from people bringing in their groceries from the car?


17 posted on 02/15/2020 2:36:14 AM PST by Moonman62 (Charity comes from wealth.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 16 | View Replies]

To: Moonman62

seriously... all someone has to do is keep an eye out for that thing and follow where it’s headed...
totally different than your ordinary car...


18 posted on 02/15/2020 2:42:47 AM PST by heavy metal (your reward will be in heaven not on your paycheck...)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 17 | View Replies]

To: Moonman62
I wonder how these cars will handle school zones and crossing guards?

-PJ

19 posted on 02/15/2020 2:45:02 AM PST by Political Junkie Too (Freedom of the press is the People's right to publish, not CNN's right to the 1st question.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: heavy metal

Why not follow people home who use the ATM instead?

You’re either trolling or extremely pessimistic.


20 posted on 02/15/2020 2:47:32 AM PST by Moonman62 (Charity comes from wealth.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 18 | View Replies]


Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first 1-2021-22 next last

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.

Free Republic
Browse · Search
General/Chat
Topics · Post Article

FreeRepublic, LLC, PO BOX 9771, FRESNO, CA 93794
FreeRepublic.com is powered by software copyright 2000-2008 John Robinson